


Something

by polishmyarmor



Series: The Long and Winding Road [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:13:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/306799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polishmyarmor/pseuds/polishmyarmor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bela's emotional walls are starting to crumble, but as her emotional walls resemble the Great Wall of China, this could take a while. Hopefully, Jo's willing to wait.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [furloughday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/furloughday/gifts).



“You should let me talk to her first.” Jo bossed, as Penny drove them closer to Luella’s long, dusty drive.

“I see no reason why we both can’t go and talk to her,” Penny responded, working hard to mask her petulance.

“You don’t know her; I do. I should talk with her. Besides, we don’t want to tick her off first thing, right? We need her help.”

“Yes. Which is why I need to be there to explain the situation.”

“Ugh, fine,” Jo gave in, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. When they arrived in front of Luella’s surprisingly charming home, Jo barely waited for the car to stop rolling before stomping out towards the door.

“You’re not seriously having a tantrum over this. God. This is what I get, working with amateurs.”

“I’m not an amateur. Now shut it.” Jo was practically pouting now, as she knocked a little too hard on Luella’s door.

“Just a sec, be right there,” a Midwestern accent hollered from somewhere in the house. When the door opened, a middle-aged sandy-haired woman called out, “Jo! Sweetheart! It’s so good to see you!” and swept Jo up in a hug.

“Hi Luella!” Jo laughed, breathless. “This is Penny.” Jo gestured to Penny, who was looking just the slightest bit gobsmacked at Luella’s greeting. Luella appeared not to remember Penny. Then again, Penny had been blonde and called Becky when last they met.

“Nice to meet you! What are you two doing here?” Luella asked, as she stepped away from the door and waved them in to her home.

As Jo explained what had brought them there (Penny was willing to allow it, so long as she got what she came for) Penny looked around the room. Her eyes took in the hunter weaponry mingled amongst the knickknacks—a demon trap in the welcome mat, iron pokers and tongs by the fireplace, and a collection of ceramic saltshakers in the shapes of various woodland creatures. As hard as it was to believe, this really was a hunter’s home. Penny was taken aback at how comfortable it all looked.

“Hmm…a golem? Well, it’s been years since I needed to use it, got it off a guy when I used to live in Jersey, real nice guy, dead of course, real nice guy.” Luella shook her head and stood up from her easy chair, going to the wine cabinet in the corner of the room. After moving the wine shelving out of the way, she opened up a small but mighty arsenal and began poking around. “Hmm, now where did I put it? Ah, here we go.”

Luella brought back a flat iron disk with copper Hebrew lettering on the front and back. “This is the Emet-Met,” she said, turning it over to show each word, “Truth and death—you need to hit the golem with this, twice. You need to do truth-side up first, then death, and make it count. Are you two going after this thing together?”

“Yeah,” “No,” Jo and Penny responded at once, then turned to look at each other in surprise.

Luella raised her eyebrows, saying, “Well, I’ll let you two figure that out, but you should really have some backup if you’re going after a golem. Sure, they’re slow as all get out, but you really oughta have someone there to make sure he doesn’t crush you to pieces.”

“Thank you for that advice, really, but I work alone. What can I give you for the weapon?” Penny asked, a touch impatiently.

“Well, now, I owe Jo’s mom going way back, and I don’t suppose I’ll be fighting off a lot of golems in the near future. You girls just do what needs to be done.” Luella put the Emet-Met in Jo’s hand and moved towards the door. “I’ll let you two be on your way. Now Jo, don’t let it be two years before I see you again.”

“Sure, Luella.” Jo gave Luella a hug and moved out the door. Luella turned and gave Penny a hug as well, startling her. She hadn’t been hugged since…she could hardly remember.

“You two take care!” Luella waved them off from her porch, and as they drove away, Jo turned to Penny, drawing in breath to argue fiercely for her ability to help defeat a golem.

Penny braced herself, getting ready for more lies—there was no golem, but there was a buyer willing to pay a very sizable amount to ensure that should he ever make a golem, no one but him could destroy it. Penny turned to Jo, who was mid-righteous argument, and decided on the truth (or at least some fraction of it), “I don’t work with partners.”

Jo couldn’t meet her eye—Penny focused on the road—but looked at her face anyway. “I know partners can be risky, but…”

“No, I’m sorry, this is nothing against you, but I can’t do it.”

“But…I know things! I’ve been around hunters my whole life. I know the job.”

“Knowing it and living it are two separate things. You’ve been around hunters, right? Then you know how few of them make it back. It’s a dangerous job, one that I have no intention of doing with anyone I barely met.”

“No. I understand. Partners can get you killed, even when you’ve known ‘em for years.”

“Right.” Penny shot a quick glance at Jo. “I can’t get you killed.”

Jo crossed her arms, and sat silently formulating a new argument before eventually realizing that it would get her nowhere. “It’s just—you’ve done it. You’re a hunter, you’re on your own, stopping them. And I’m…I’m twenty-one, living with my mom, working in a bar. I want to do something.”

“So what’s stopping you? You don’t need me to be a hunter.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. But man, these are some nice wheels.” Jo stroked the leather upholstery appreciatively and smiled. For Penny, it was the most dizzying smile she’d ever seen, and she was happy to offer a smile in return. She couldn’t offer much else.


End file.
